This invention relates to a function limiting method for a telephone communication terminal and a telephone communication method applied to telephone communication of a telephone communication terminal such as, for example, a portable telephone communication terminal with another telephone communication terminal in a state or a region in which different regulations such as laws are applied, as well as a telephone communication terminal and a repeating center equipment for use with the methods.
Variable portable telephone communication terminals are available including a portable telephone communication terminal which has a conversation recording function by which conversation during communication can be recorded simply. According to the conversation recording function, conversation with the other party during communication is recorded into a memory of the portable telephone communication terminal. Consequently, contents of the recorded conversation can be heard repetitively before they are erased.
Utilization of the conversation recording function eliminates the necessity for taking hand-written notes of contents of the conversation or of significant information presented in the conversation. Further, later playback of the recorded contents of the conversation allows the user to repetitively hear the recorded contents of the conversation by any number of times and take notes of significant matters of the conversation.
Also a communication system is available which is applied over a large number of countries such as, for example, a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) system. Utilization of such a communication system as just mentioned allows a telephone call to be made easily and conveniently from a mobile communication terminal such as a car phone communication terminal or a portable telephone communication terminal.
Also a communication terminal such as a mobile communication terminal is available which uses such a communication system applicable over a wide area as just described and incorporates the conversation recording function described above. In some countries, however, such legal restrictions are provided that recording of conversation during communication is inhibited or, when it is intended to record conversion during communication, the other party must be notified that the conversation is being recorded in order to protect the privacy and for the like object.
However, it is difficult for a user typically of a portable telephone communication terminal having the conversation recording function to know mandatory controls of all pertaining countries. Therefore, use of the conversion recording function may possibly cause the user to conduct an illegal act without knowing it. In order to prevent this, a portable telephone communication terminal is being investigated which detects a country code sent from a base station and indicative of a region such as a country in which the base station is positioned and discriminates, based on the country code, presence or absence typically of limitations to the conversation recording function in the region or country indicated by the country code, and observes the limitations where the limitations are applied in the region or country.
However, the portable telephone communication terminal just described takes only the country in which the portable telephone communication terminal is actually used into consideration, but does not care limitations to recording of conversation during communication in the country in which the other party of the communication is.
Accordingly, when one party A is in a country in which recording of conversation during communication is inhibited while the other party B is in another country in which there is no limitation to recording of conversation during communication, there is the possibility that, while the party A talks considering that recording of the conversation is inhibited, the other party B records the conversation arbitrarily without the consideration of the party A.
In this manner, while the conversation recording function is convenient in that contents of conversation can be recorded easily thereby, it may possibly cause a user to violate regulations such as laws of a country in which the other party of the communication is positioned without knowing it or to record the conversation against the will of the other party of the communication. Therefore, also restrictions to use of a communication terminal such as a portable telephone communication terminal prescribed in a state or a region of the other party of communication must be taken into consideration.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a function limiting method for a telephone communication terminal and a telephone communication method wherein use of a function provided for a telephone communication terminal can be limited taking regulations such as laws applied in a state or a region in which the other party of communication is positioned, a will of the other party of communication and so forth into consideration and a telephone communication terminal and a repeating center equipment for use with the methods.
In order to attain the object described above, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a function limiting method for a telephone communication terminal for limiting an information signal processing function of a telephone communication terminal for processing at least a received information signal, comprising the steps of a detection step of detecting a region identification code to be used for identification of a state or a region in which a call originating terminal is used, the region identification code being included in information received upon origination of a call from the call originating terminal, and a control step of performing limitation control to the information signal processing function based on the region identification code detected in the detection step.
In the a function limiting method for a telephone communication terminal, a region identification code to be used for identification of a state or a region in which a call originating terminal is used is detected by a call terminating terminal. Then, limitation control to the information signal processing function is performed based on the detected region identification code by the call terminating terminal. In particular, it is possible for the call terminating terminal to discriminate whether or not restrictions to the information signal processing function of the call originating terminal based on regulations such as laws applied to a state or a region in which the call originating terminal is used are present and discriminate, where such restrictions are present, contents of the restrictions. Consequently, the information signal processing function of the call terminating terminal is controlled and limited based on the detected region identification code.
Therefore, the call terminating terminal can control the information signal processing function of itself so that the regulations such as laws applied to the state or the region in which the call originating terminal is used may not be violated.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a function limiting method for a telephone communication terminal for limiting an information signal processing function of a telephone communication terminal for processing at least a received information signal, comprising the steps of a detection step of detecting control information to be used to limit the information signal control information included in information received upon origination of a call, and a control step of performing limitation control to the information signal processing function based on the control information detected in the detection step.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a telephone communication method, comprising the steps of transmitting control information to be used to control a call terminating terminal to limit an information signal processing function of the call terminating terminal from a call originating terminal side, and receiving the control information by the call terminating terminal and controlling the information signal processing function of the call terminating terminal itself based on the received control information.
According to a still further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a telephone communication method wherein at least one of telephone communication terminals used for communication is a portable telephone communication terminal, comprising the steps of producing, by a repeating center which manages position information of the portable telephone communication terminal, control information to be used to control a call terminating terminal to limit an information signal processing function of the call terminating terminal based on information included in call origination information transmitted upon call origination from a call originating terminal side, and transmitting the control information to the call terminating terminal, and receiving, by the call terminating terminal, the control information and controlling the call terminating terminal itself to limit the information signal processing function of the call terminating terminal based on the received control information.
According to the present invention, the function limiting methods for a telephone communication terminal and the telephone communication methods can be carried out by telephone communication terminals and a repeating center apparatus. In particular, according to a yet further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a telephone communication terminal, comprising information signal processing means for processing at least a received information signal, detection means for detecting a region identification code to be used for identification of a state or a region in which a call originating terminal is used, the region identification code being included in information received upon origination of a call, and control means for performing limitation control to information signal processing to be performed by the information signal processing means based on the region identification code detected by the detection means.
According to a yet further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a telephone communication terminal, comprising information signal processing means for processing at least a received information signal, detection means for detecting control information included in information received upon origination of a call and used for information signal processing to be executed by the information signal processing means, and control means for performing limitation control to information signal processing to be performed by the information signal processing means based on the control information detected by the detection means. invention, there is provided a telephone communication terminal, comprising instruction input acceptance means for accepting an instruction input regarding control information for limiting an information signal processing function of a call terminating terminal, control information production means for producing control information to be used to control the call terminating terminal to limit the information signal processing means of the call terminating terminal in response to the instruction input accepted by the instruction input acceptance means, and control information transmission means for transmitting the control information produced by the control information production means to the call terminating terminal.
According to a yet further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a telephone communication terminal, comprising instruction input acceptance means for accepting instruction input information regarding control information for limiting an information signal processing function of a call terminating terminal, and transmission means for transmitting the instruction input information accepted by the instruction input acceptance means.
According to an additional aspect of the present invention, there is provided a repeating center equipment connected to a communication network for managing position information of a portable telephone communication terminal connected to the communication network, comprising control information production means for producing control information to be used to control a call terminating terminal in the form of a portable telephone communication terminal to limit an information signal processing function of the call terminating terminal based on information included in call origination information from a call originating terminal, and control information transmission means for transmitting the control information produced by the control information production means to the call terminating terminal.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like parts or elements denoted by like reference symbols.